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Comment by rhplus | Hacker News Reader

Carry on policy has triggered an arms race for passengers and carry on size. I usually just bring a small backpack because it’s convenient and I don’t want to lug two bags through the airport.

Recently, certain airlines have announced that small bags must go under seats so there’s room in overhead storage for roller bags. There goes my leg room and any incentive to pack smaller with just one small backpack.

Now, I’m incentivized to bring the maximum size carry on so that I get overhead space and don’t have to shove smaller bags next to my feet.

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Almost 45 years after my first flight, I still carry a backpack. The same one in fact, though its waterproofing is long gone.

More often than not, I get to stash it in the overhead bin. There's often space for something like 3-1/2 rollers in a bin, so I can squeeze my bag in. The option of putting it under my seat is something I save for strict necessity, but it's still preferable to gate-checking.

I need dire circumstances to travel with more than a backpack. Waiting for baggage claim drains my soul. Traveling with just a carry on means I can walk off the plane into a cab without further downtime.

I'm the opposite. I hate having to drag my lugguage around while I'm in the airport. I'm happy to wait for my baggage to be delivered. My life isn't so frantic that 10-15 minutes more is the end of the world.

I also don't see it as "downtime". I can check mail, message friends, call friends, read news, listen to podcasts or audio books, or music, all from my phone while I wait.

My most frequent flight lands at 11:50pm, and is often 30+ minutes late. The last thing I want is to spend my "down time" at 1am waiting 30+ minutes for my bag in an uncomfortable, loud, jarring space. I'd rather just take a backpack and already be in bed by the time my luggage would have shown up.

My wife is just the opposite, and always checks a giant bag. I get so irritated waiting for her bags and so stressed getting to the airport on time for them to take it -- another advantage of carryon only is that you can show up to the airport just-in-time, and you have one less unpredictable line to wait in. Carryon only + clear means I can show up to the airport 10 minutes before doors close and walk on the plane & not have to worry about lines, carry on space, waiting for luggage, etc.

I’m team checked luggage. When plane lands, everyone is rushing out of airport, but I causally walk, perhaps grab some coffee or snacks before heading to baggage claim. It helps me relax and get energized for the driving.

I don't enjoy carrying my baggage around either, but I very much don't enjoy one extra line to stand in to check my bag, and after a long flight I very much don't enjoy having to wait even longer to get to my destination. It's not a matter of "downtime". I want to be to my hotel or house or whatever as soon as possible.

Due to airline status etc. I always have a free checked bag, but I never, ever use it.

Same, also a backpack simply does not have enough room for any trip longer than a couple of days. By the time you add underwear for every day, shirts for every day, multiple pairs of pants, some pajamas, toiletries... you're at a carry-on at least, and it's not hard to fill a checked bag.

I've had a backpack for a trip that lasted more than a year. Yes, you cannot do this in all climates, but it's not impossible.

I took some equipment once so figured I’d check my bag at the same time as I hard to wait for baggage anyway

Airline lost my bad, and took 5 days for it to arrive. Had no clothes, toiletries etc. to compound things there was then a hurricane and the shops were closed.

It's 10-15 minutes if the airport you're landing at is functioning properly. I've waited for two hours for a bag before.

It's not the waiting at the end that kills me, it's the waiting at the start.

When you need to check-in a bag, that's a whole situation. When you turn up at the airport with a backpack and a boarding pass in your Apple Wallet, now that is a nice way to start a trip.

Can you share a photo of the backpack?

It's quite similar to this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267204880751

Basically a non-descript nylon bag with minimal accoutrements. I curse its lack of features (extra pockets, etc) on every trip, then it goes on the shelf until the next trip. It was on sale at the local sporting goods store when I was in high school. I recently bought a cheap waterproof cover for it, because I noticed that most of the advertised "waterproof" packs come with a cover.

I have a very lightweight, tiny day pack that I either roll up and stuff in the main pack, or carry on as my "personal item." That way, I can leave the big pack in my hotel room.

I've had good luck waterproofing things with Nikwax. I've got a 20 year old Tom Bihn bag that I've applied it to as well as outdoor clothing and it's been great!

Airlines should get more strict with regards to the overhead bin. Both with bag size and placement. Planes can probably fit a certain sized bag for everyone who brings one, but too many flyers seem to intentionally bring bigger bags or place them oddly so as not to share the space.

In other words, it's too time consuming for flight attendants to do it for customers. Why? Because it's too time consuming.

All the more reason to remove disincentives from checking bags.

Honeestly the biggest reason I avoid checking bags is reliability. After you experience having a suitcase completely lost by an airline, it's hard to trust the system again.

Wow another issue that comes down to "Airplanes are packed with too many people"

The FAA can force airlines to dedicate about 1.5X the amount of space per person that they do today, and all of these stupid problems disappear. Airlines could even get away with the skeleton crew of airline staff that they use today with the reduced amount of people who'd be paying more per seat.

But, because we have to let far too many people fly, and because the FAA doesn't stop private companies from violating human rights with their airplane seat designs, we have to deal with this lunancy where anyone 6 feet and above has to assume a struggle position for in some cases 20+ hours (i.e. flights to Singapore) in a fully packed metal coffin.

Or maybe someone 6 foot tall should just pay the more expensive ticket with larger leg room. Why should someone 5 foot tall pay for your comfort.

Same with seat width. The only issues there are when a minority of passengers are so large they take up your seat, they should be removed from the flight.

In the anglo speaking world, that might turn out to be the majority of passengers.

The only place I ever got well priced business class flights of anywhere near 9+ hours were Japanese airlines, so maybe it is just because we are too tall!

Business class is 20x the price of economy (it should be no more than 4X and that should be taxpayer funded), isn't enough of the plane and is constantly sold out months before the flight on long flights.

"Premium economy" and similar doesn't give meaningful legroom improvements and is generally a scam.

The only option for tall people (not overweight) is exit rows which are also the first seats taken or the few "extra legroom" seats usually in the front of economy by the bathrooms. These seats are also taken months in advance.

Americans are tall because we are fed well. Our tallness is partly why we are so dominant during wartime. The world bends to our will, not the other way around.

We need widespread and popular "passenger revolts" to force the FAA to change policy. Make the lives of the airline executives hell and use political power to nationalize them yesterday. Privitization of the air was a massive mistake.

Business class should be taxpayer funded? I would love to hear the case for that.

I mean that air travel should be nationalized in general, with whatever losses come from offering subsidized business class (no more than 5X economy) being ate by the tax payer.

I’m sat in premium economy now, with plenty of legroom (39” pitch I believe) and width (2-4-2 rather than 3-4-3). Feels similar to the first class seat ton cruise was in in the first mission impossible film. Except without the smoking, and far cheaper.

Business class gives me a bed to sleep on, and first class is beyond that. That don’t exist in the 80s let alone 60s

Don't forget figuring out a way to tie overhead bin space to assigned seats to keep "overhead bin pirates" from storing their carryons in the front of the plane when their seats are in the back...

I guess I’m one of your pirates. Especially when I notice that most of the bins are closed near the back, where my seat usually is, I’ll use the first open space that I see. Bonus is that I don’t have to maneuver my suitcase as far. Drawback is that I have to keep an eye on things during deboarding: once I had to chase down some idiot who exited the plane with my bag. Why do you believe that people are supposed to use the bins next to their seats?

Well, for one thing, on many planes the space above FC and whatever their premium economy class is called is specifically labeled for use of passengers seated in those areas. For another, it's just common courtesy. I get if you are boarding late and there are only a few available bins but in my experience the bins at the back fill last not first, so you really should have no problem storing your bag near your seat.

I often only take a backpack as well. And I feel just fine putting that in the overhead bin, since that's my only carry-on.

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